General News
5 February, 2025
Train driver boasts a unique perspective at training exercise
The former QAS Inspector recently left his job as an ambo to become a full-time train driver.
Brad Hardy was the perfect candidate to bring together Aurizon staff with Mount Isa paramedics and firefighters.
After all, he has all their numbers in his mobile phone, having served as North West ambulance superintendent for three years before making the unusual career decision in 2023 to become a full-time train driver with Aurizon.
The 24-year veteran paramedic began his working life as a labourer and machinery operator in the coal mines at Blackwater before a stint in mine rescue sparked an interest in becoming an ambo.
He worked his way through the Queensland Ambulance Service before arriving in Mount Isa to take over the top job.
However, he admits the urge to handle big transport vehicles never left him and when he saw an online job advertisement for train drivers, he was keen to make a move.
“I decided I needed a career change and I always liked trains – it is really as simple as that,” he said.
“I guess it is just that thing about being a kid and seeing the trains moving along that never really leaves you.
“I was looking for a new job to de-stress. And I have enjoyed every minute in this new role and I haven’t really looked back.”
Mr Hardy said he saw the need for a joint training exercise with emergency service workers from the moment he first stepped into a loco cab.
“The first time I got onto a loco, I guess I still had my paramedic hat on and I noticed just how narrow and how difficult it is to access the cab area,” he told North West Weekly.
“I just thought about how difficult it would be to get someone off a loco in the event of a medical emergency.
“I floated the idea of holding training exercise around and it got some real traction and that’s how the idea was born to hold this exercise today alongside emergency services.”
Mr Hardy, who now mostly drives a train between Mount Isa and Cloncurry, said the exercise enabled rail workers to get to know the paramedic and fire fighting crews in the city.
“We have got a great bunch of people working in emergency services ... an exercise like this allows everyone to meet each other so that if there ever is a real emergency, there is that familiarity,” he said.